PADDINGTON OLD CEMETERY:
KILBURN’S SECRET GREEN ESCAPE

Is the name of Paddington Old Cemetery made up by locals to confuse outsiders and keep this charming green space all to themselves? Maybe…
 

Sometimes I wonder if the name of Paddington Old Cemetery is made up by locals purely to confuse outsiders and keep this hidden gem in the heart of Kilburn all to themselves. One of the first public cemeteries in London, it fell into neglect for a while, but recent restorations have brought it back to life as a green community space sprinkled with Victorian charm. So many forgotten stories of not-so-ordinary Londoners hidden in crumbling monuments, patiently waiting to be whispered…

Since the Middle Ages, Londoners were laid to rest in plots of land tucked around their parish churches. But then came the Industrial Revolution, doubling both London’s population and its mortality rate. Soon, these churchyards turned into stinky squish of corpses contaminating the city’s water supplies, causing regular epidemics and bringing even more dead bodies…

To solve the crisis seven grand garden cemeteries ran as commercial ventures were opened on the outskirts of London. They were beautiful, sanitary… and well beyond the means of the poorest, who had no choice but to keep squeezing their dearly departed into grimy churchyards.

It wasn’t until 1852, after yet another round of devastating cholera outbreaks finally broke the system, that Parliament stepped in. The Burial Acts shut down London’s parish graveyards and allowed boroughs to create new cemeteries available to all social classes.

Paddington Cemetery, opened in 1855, was one of the first public burial grounds – set in a peaceful rural land, close to what was then a small village of Willesden.

By 1923, it was almost full. This led to the opening of Paddington New Cemetery (now known as Mill Hill Cemetery) in 1936, while the original site on Willesden Lane – previously known as PADDINGTON CEMETERY or WILLESDEN LANE CEMETERY – became known as PADDINGTON OLD CEMETERY.

In the 1980s, the City of Westminster sold it to Brent for a symbolic price of £5, sparkling a wave of community action. Soon, the FRIENDS OF PADDINGTON OLD CEMETERY were formed, on a mission to preserve the site’s heritage.

It’s spacious and well-kept, with trees and ivy-covered monuments scattered around broad swathes of grass. The Victorian vibe is still strong here, despite Paddington Old being an active burial ground, as all the shiny new memorials are kept separately.

The cemetery layout and buildings were designed by THOMAS LITTLE (d. 1859), also responsible for Nunhead Cemetery’s chapel. He arranged the grounds in a horseshoe path formation, cleverly accentuating the picturesque setting of two Gothic-style chapels at the centre, linked with a central belfry by impressive arches. The chapels differed in detail – the Anglican one featured more elaborate detailing and stained-glass windows, while the Nonconformist chapel presented simpler design and had clear glazed windows.

Thomas personally selected his grave plot to have the best view of his beautiful creations. Totally understandable – these are one of my favourite cemetery chapels ever!

As a public burial ground, Paddington Old isn’t exactly an open-air gallery of grand memorials, but it still offers fine examples of Victorian funerary art. Sadly, over time, many have collapsed and had to be removed.

The only listed (Grade II) monument in the cemetery commemorates JAMES (d. 1877) and ROSINA (d. 1911) GOETZE. A pink granite Celtic cross is decorated with stunning pair of angels of death carrying a soul, designed by SIR ALFRED GILBERT, best known for his Eros in Piccadilly Circus. Cast bronze railings, decorated with floral motifs, are topped with allegorical cowled figures at each corner.

SIGISMUND GOETZE (d. 1939), who founded the memorial for his parents, was an artist, remembered mostly for his controversial imperialist murals at London’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, portraying Britain as a triumphant imperial power, while Africa as a naked boy dutifully carrying a fruit basket… They still grace the grand staircase today, welcoming visiting dignitaries with a wink from another era – whether they asked for it or not.

Like many Victorian burial grounds, Paddington Old Cemetery follows the 19th-century garden style. It was designed not only for the dead, but as a green, peaceful retreat for the living. Many of its original trees are still watching over the graves. The gnarled boundary oaks are even older – they once marked ancient field lines!

The Friends group plants new trees and supports habitats for wildlife – from wildflower meadows to shady shrubberies, and even a woodland section.

A small, wild patch of cemetery land set behind the Salusbury Primary School building was leased to the school in 2008, turning into a ‘GREEN SPACE’ – an award-winning outdoor classroom where children follow forest school programmes (with potential archaeology lessons if they dig deep enough).

Foxes and squirrels are London cemeteries’ classic, but Paddington Old is also home to an apiary that produces its own ‘TOMBSTONE HONEY’. Other insects thrive here too, including a rare common blue butterfly. Tawny owls, magpies, thrushes and woodpeckers are regularly seen in the trees. The Friends even run bat identification tours! Their initiatives such as annual species counts form an important part of their work, activating and connecting the local community.

The cemetery has its fair share of once-famous occupants! Full list is here, and these are my favourites:

When the British East India Company annexed the Kingdom of Oude in 1856, desperate royal family decided to travel to London – with an entourage of 110 attendants – to petition Queen Victoria for the return of their lands. The voyage was cursed with misfortune, including the King of Oude’s death, Queen Vic refusing to meet with Queen Malika of Oude for nearly a year, and the final dismissal of the petition. Following months of humiliation, the royal family decided to return home.

Princess Omdutel, the niece of the King of Oude, was too ill to travel. She died in London at just 18 months old.

Tragically, Queen Malika, her granddaughter, and Omdutel’s father had also died on their way back home. All three are buried in the Muslim quarter at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

He was quite the character! A military man and jockey, Martin’s the only person to have a fence on a racecourse named after him. The ‘BECHER’S BROOK’s commemorates his spectacular fall followed by waiting in the water until his rivals thundered over before climbing out thoroughly soaked, swearing like a sailor. Embarrassed, Becher never took part in the event again. Known for being a great mimic, singer, and storyteller, he was super popular in the society, famous for his party trick of casually leaping onto a mantelpiece from a standing jump!

His illustrations in wood engraving technique were widely used in books between 1820 and 1870, with many of them still reproduced.

A remarkable sportsman, he represented Oxford against Cambridge in cricket, tennis, rackets, athletics, and football – a record that is still unmatched! in 1872 Ottaway became the captain of England’s first football team ever. He died of pneumonia at the age of 27.

A Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects and a Professor of Architecture at the Royal Academy, he designed many significant buildings, including the Great Ormond Street Hospital and parts of the National Gallery.

A schoolteacher, feminist and a pioneer of the Women’s Trade Union Movement, she was the first female member of the Trades Union Congress.

As a talented engraver, Wyon was commissioned by Queen Victoria in 1850 to create medallic portraits of her children. He is best known for his work on British coinage, like designing the bronze ‘BUN PENNY’ in 1860.

Possibly the most colourful character in the cemetery, Wielobycki was a Polish-born homeopath, botanist, vegetarian, non-smoker and teetotaller, fluent in five languages. Exiled to Britain after fighting in failed Krakow Uprising, he got a medical degree from the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and opened a homeopathic practice before emigrating to Canada, only to return to London few years later.

Until contracting influenza in 1890, he was in excellent health and undertook daily walks of 12 miles. He died at the impressive age of 100 years and eight months!

Known as ‘THE QUEEN OF LONDON WHOREDOM’ because of her elite clientele, Laura was a courtesan celebrated as one of the most beautiful women of her day. She famously adopted Hyde Park as a stage to display her charms, driving through it daily in a gilded carriage drawn by two white horses.

Among her many admirers was the Nepalese Prime Minister, Jung Bahadur Rana, who lavished £250,000 in gifts upon her over three months. He also presented her with a diamond ring as a token of his devotion, vowing to grant her every wish. She used it later to request that he send troops to help Britain during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. I bet it wasn’t the wish he hoped for, but still – Rana led his army personally!

After getting married, Laura became a charismatic Methodist preacher, dedicated to religious work until she died.

In 1854, SIR ROGER TICHBORNE was reported lost at sea and declared dead. His mother, however, clinging to rumours that survivors of the shipwreck had reached Australia, continued to believe her son lived. So, when a butcher from Wagga Wagga with a facial resemblance to Sir Roger appeared in 1865 claiming to be the missing son, Lady Tichborne not only accepted him, but also provided with pocket money.

In a civil case, his inability to speak French despite Roger’s French upbringing, his confusion between Greek and Latin despite an education at Stonyhurst College, and the absence of a distinctive tattoo, led the jury to reject his claim. He was identified as Arthur Orton, a butcher’s son from Wapping, and sentenced to fourteen years’ imprisonment.

Despite dying in poverty, Orton remained a popular figure, with 5,000 people attending his funeral. The coffin bearing a nameplate ‘SIR ROGER CHARLES DOUGHTY TICHBORNE’ (with the family’s agreement!) was buried in a pauper’s grave.

The story (full version here!) was a press sensation, and Orton was fictionalized by Jorge Luis Borges in Tom Castro, The Implausible Impostor. He was later portrayed by actor Robert Pugh in The Tichborne Claimant, a drama about the case. More recently, Orton became the subject of Zadie Smith’s book The Fraud.

A physician and social reformer, Kerr founded the Total Abstinence Society and the Society for the Study and Cure of Inebriety. An advocate of vegetarianism and kindness to animals, Kerr also supported the admission of women practitioners to the British Medical Association, and the Early Closing Movement limiting working hours of shop assistants to 12 per day.

A radical critic of imperialism and trades union activist, he organised the most important pro-union demonstration in England and chaired the historic meeting which led to the formation of the International Working Men’s Association, later dominated by Karl Marx.

Edward’s wife, she was an active campaigner herself and President of the Women’s Liberal Association of Paddington. Stories from the History of Rome, a book she wrote for sons, is still available in print!

A politician, property tycoon and the greatest financial fraudster in British history. The scandalous fall of his empire in 1892 ruined thousands of small investors, leading to multiple suicides. Leaving his directors with blatant inaccuracies in the accounting and combined debts of £7m (equivalent of nearly half a billion pounds today!), Balfour escaped to Argentina.

Extradited back to Britain, he was convicted and sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment with hard labour. Released after six, he published My Prison Life, which became a bestseller, and showed no remorse for the victims of his fraudulent activities throughout the rest of his life. It’s said that the name Jabez went out of fashion due to his reputation.

Ranked by the Racing Post as the third of top 50 jockeys of the 20th century. Weighing only 65 pounds for most of his career life, Maher remained a dominant figure in racing – until he died of tuberculosis and extreme dieting at just 35.

A popular stage actress and a star of the silent film era, best remembered for her role as Mrs. Tredgett in The Tempstress (1920). 

A celebrated child prodigy, performing with FRANZ LISZT at the age of five. Touring extensively across Europe, she played for royalty including the Tsar of Russia and the Emperor of Austria. Several of her later recordings are accessible online.

Creator of Paddington, the marmalade-loving bear from Peru, whose adventures sold worldwide in over 35 million copies. Bond also wrote Olga da Polga and contributed to children’s television.

One of the first war correspondents for The Times. While covering the Second Opium War, Bowlby joined a delegation sent to Beijing to arrange a peace treaty. Unfortunately, they were all arrested and tortured to death instead…

As a revenge, the Qing Emperor’s Palace was demolished, which is still a source of diplomatic tension, with China calling for the return of looted treasures.

An actress and dancer, she died tragically before shooting a ballet scene for the film Spanish Eyes. While having a brandy in Donald Calthorp’s dressing room, her crinoline dress caught fire from an electric radiator.

An Australian-born spiritual healer.

Paddington Old was a background of multiple scenes in Remembrance of the Daleks, the second episode of the 25th season of Doctor Who (1988) starring Sylvester McCoy.

• GOD’S ACRE MEMORIAL – a stone cross standing in the woodland section at the eastern end of the main path commemorates forgotten souls of the poorest. This charming corner, known as the Paddington Old Cemetery Nature Area, is densely filled with unmarked graves.
• Paddington Old Cemetery and its twin chapels are Grade II listed on Historic England’s Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest, with chapels also currently included in the Heritage at Risk Register.
• You can enjoy HERITAGE TRAIL – a free guided walk through the cemetery. Just scan the QR code from information board near the entrance for an interactive, GPS-based tour with CityTrotter app. A real game changer for tombstone tourists!
• Keep your phone ready for more!  Scan the QR code displayed on the scaffolding surrounding the chapels to learn more about their restoration project. You can even take a virtual tour inside!
• In 1999, Paddington Old was awarded with the CEMETERY OF THE YEAR title.
• After complaints about dogs’ behaviour, Brent Council put a ban on them being off-leash, which resulted in forming the DOGS OF PADDINGTON CEMETERY – a group of their owners, hitting back.

There’s definitely an eerie vibe in the God’s Acre section…

So, next time you find yourself in Kilburn, step off the beaten path and wander through Paddington Old Cemetery. Trust me, this isn’t just another patch of green! A working burial ground blended with charming, well-kept space for the local community, connecting the past and present in many unique ways. Very impressive!

PS. Kensal Green Cemetery is only a tube station away!

MAIN SOURCES:
www.brent.gov.uk
www.fopoc.com
kilburnwesthampstead.blogspot.com